Gas turbine engines are known to include a compressor section for supplying a flow of compressed combustion air, a combustor section for burning a fuel in the compressed combustion air, and a turbine section for extracting thermal energy from the combustion air and converting that energy into mechanical energy in the form of a shaft rotation. Many parts of the combustor section and turbine section are exposed directly to the hot combustion gasses, for example the combustor, the transition duct between the combustor and the turbine section, and the turbine stationary vanes, rotating blades and surrounding ring segments.
It is also known that increasing the firing temperature of the combustion gas may increase the power and efficiency of a combustion turbine. Modern high efficiency combustion turbines have firing temperatures in excess of 1,600 degrees C., which is well in excess of the safe operating temperature of the structural materials used in the hot gas flow path components. Special super alloy materials have been developed for use in such high temperature environments, and these materials have been used with specific cooling arrangements, including film cooling, backside cooling and insulation.
Ceramic and ceramic matrix composite (CMC) materials offer the potential for higher operating temperatures than do metal alloy materials, due to the inherent refractory nature of ceramic materials. This capability may be translated into a reduced cooling requirement that, in turn, may result in higher power, greater efficiency, and/or reduced emissions from the engine.
Prior art ceramic turbine airfoil members may be formed with an associated shroud or platform member. The platform defines a flow path between adjacent airfoil members for directing the hot combustion gasses past the airfoil members. The platform is exposed to the same high temperature gas environment as the airfoil member and thus may be formed of a ceramic material. The platform and the airfoil members may be formed as separate components that are unconnected and are allowed to have relative movement between them. However, such designs may not adequately transfer aerodynamic torque loads from the airfoil to the platform attachments. Alternatively, the platform and the airfoil may be formed as separate components that are mechanically joined together, as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,789. Such mechanical joints must be robust, and thus tend to be complicated and expensive.
Another alternative for joining the airfoil and the platform is to form the platform and the airfoil as a single integral part. Monolithic ceramic is readily moldable to a form, but it is limited to small shapes and is insufficiently strain-tolerant for robust designs. CMC materials incorporate ceramic fibers in a ceramic matrix for enhanced mechanical strength and ductility. However, conventional ceramic composite processing methods increase in complexity and cost in a complex three-dimensional component such as a turbine vane. U.S. Pat. No. 6,200,092 describes a turbine nozzle assembly having a vane forward segment formed of CMC material wherein the reinforcing fibers are specially oriented across the juncture of the airfoil and the platform members. Such special fiber placement in the airfoil-to-platform transition region presents a manufacturing challenge, especially with insulated CMC construction. Furthermore, for some CMC compositions, shrinkage during processing may result in residual stresses in complex shapes that are geometrically constrained. The airfoil-to-platform attachment area is one area where such stresses would arise. Additionally, load transfer between the airfoil and the platform results in interlaminar stresses in the fillet region where mechanical properties may be compromised.
In one solution to these problems, U.S. Pat. No. 6,648,597 discloses a method of manufacture for a vane component of a gas turbine, including: forming an airfoil member of a ceramic matrix composite material; forming a platform member of a ceramic matrix composite material; and forming an integral vane component by bonding respective joint surfaces of the airfoil member and the platform member. The method may further include: forming the airfoil member of a ceramic matrix composite material in a green body state; forming the platform member of a ceramic matrix composite material in a green body state; and urging the respective joint surfaces of the airfoil member and the platform member together at a firing temperature to form a sinter bond between them. The method may include densifying the sinter bond with a matrix infiltration process. The method may further include reinforcing the sinter bond with a fastener connected between the respective joint surfaces. Alternatively, the method may include bonding the respective joint surfaces of the airfoil member and the platform member with an adhesive. However, ceramic joints using refractory adhesives alone are weak and unreliable for carrying primary loads (mechanical, unrelenting loads). Furthermore, when such adhesives are applied to already-fired CMC parts in constrained geometries, the adhesives shrink and produce bond joint cracking.